Family of Brit woman who was found 'brutally murdered' in a Kenyan hotel room under mysterious circumstances are still fighting for answers five years on

Published: 19:53, 18 May 2026 | Updated: 19:54, 18 May 2026 Nearly five years ago Peter Mitchell picked up his phone. It was the Northumbria Police.  The officer told him his sister Kate was brutally murdered in a hotel in Kenya - however the details behind her death were unknown.  The body of Kate Mitchell, who was originally from Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, was found in her Ibis room in Nairobi in November 2021, where she worked as a project manager at BBC Media Action, the corporation's international development charity.  Mr Mitchell, and the siblings' mother Sue, are still fighting to find out what happened on that night in the Kenyan capital five years later as they face what they describe as 'institutional foot dragging' by local authorities.  Last year, a UK inquest into Ms Mitchell's death concluded the 42-year-old was unlawfully killed by an intruder who proceeded to jump or fall to his death from the eighth floor.  The body of Tamati Oyondi Mauti, who Ms Mitchell was seen with earlier in the day, was discovered directly below the room, numbered 810, on a first-floor balcony of the hotel. Ms Mitchell's room's window was smashed.  CCTV footage captured Mauti approaching the charity worker in a bar that night and asking for a cigarette. The pair, who did not know each other, could then be seen having a drink together, before the prime suspect allegedly later followed her as she went up to her room.  Meanwhile, a Kenyan inquest into Ms Mitchell's death is ongoing, having been adjourned numerous times since its opening in November 2025 at Kibera Law, through brief one-day hearings - forcing Mr Mitchell to fly back and forth from the UK.  Kate Mitchell (pictured) was brutally murdered in an ibis hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, in November 2021 Peter and their mother Sue are still fighting to find out what happened on that night five years ago Pictured: The family visited Rome on a family holiday in 2009 'It has been really, really hard to get a momentum behind this case', Mr Mitchell told the Daily Mail.  'There has been a sense in this case that it is in a lot of people's interest for it to just go away, including the Kenyan authorities. I don't think there is an appetite to pursue it from anyone except me and my lawyers because it is too much work.'  He added: 'She was murdered in an ibis Styles Hotel not a refugee camp. She fell victim in a way that women die too many times.'  Ms Mitchell's body was found on the eighth floor of the Ibis Styles Hotel Westlands on November 17, 2021. She had been struck on the back of the head and strangled, according to a post mortem examination.  In February 2025, coroner Karen Walsh ruled in Newcastle the charity worker had been unlawfully killed, with signs she had died from a blunt head injury and pressure on her neck. The family were forced to wait nearly four years for answers as the UK coroner 'never got anything from the Kenyan government', which prevented an investigation into Ms Mitchell's death from starting.  Mr Mitchell said: 'The High Commission could not get the Kenyan government to hand anything over. The British inquest had to in the end proceed with the documentation they had, which was absolutely minimal.  'They had a photocopy of a Kenyan death certificate, a British death certificate, the results of a post mortem conducted in Britain when Kate's body was repatriated and just absolutely nothing else.' Ms Mitchell was staying at the Ibis Styles Hotel Westlands in Nairobi, Kenya, when she met her alleged murderer Tamati Oyondi Mauti 'All they could do was return a verdict of unlawful killing and pretty much throw their hands up and call it a day,' he added.  While describing the British Commission in Kenya as 'very helpful', the writer believes that 'it is in a lot of people's interest for the case to just go away'.  He added: 'We can't know what happened but two people died in circumstances that are really unclear and in quite a politically complex context.  'Whatever is being kept from us or whatever is making people drag their feet probably isn't anything to do with us but the collateral damage is that me and my mum do not get answers.'  The 44-year-old has now passed the age of his older sister, who died at 42, and is forced to fly out from his home in Newcastle for individual days of an ongoing inquiry, with authorities failing to schedule them consecutively.  Mr Mitchell said: 'They will only give us one day at a time and then they will announce another day in three months time. They could give us consecutive dates and get it done but they won't, for whatever reason, so we just keep coming back for a day at a time.' The bereaved brother hopes for the 'beginnings of some answers' and 'a little bit of closure' from the Kenyan inquest, adding: 'It'll be five years in November. There's a sense that it is just not over which is very difficult to live with.'  While he added his lawyers will question numerous hurdles the family has faced during Kenyan proceedings, including the circumstances of his sister's post-mortem, the security of the hotel where she died and the death of the Mauti.  The 44-year-old has now passed the age of his older sister, who died at 42, and is forced to fly out from his home in Newcastle for individual days of an ongoing inquiry Mr Mitchell did not shy away from the possibility of speaking with the family of his sister's alleged murderer, adding: 'I would be perfectly willing to discuss with them because they also have to search for answers and they also deserve peace.'  Kate had been moved to Kenya by her company from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia as a safety measure after war broke out, having also worked in South Sudan and Zambia.  Given her career, Mr Mitchell described her as 'not wet behind the ears' and was 'really friendly but very professional and really well trained'. He added: 'She wasn't in any sense naive or didn't know how to look after herself. She was 42 and had been doing this for a lot of years.  'She was really dedicated to the education of women and their emancipation, and the fight against violence against women. It is a real shame that she didn't get to keep doing that.' Some 170 women were killed in Kenya in 2024, although numbers are predicted to be higher.  The inquiry continued on May 13, with 18 on the witness list.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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